


All's Fair in Love and Matchmaking

by darktensh17, Nife



Category: Dragon Age
Genre: M/M, Matchmaking, Silly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-13
Updated: 2013-04-07
Packaged: 2017-12-05 04:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/718774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darktensh17/pseuds/darktensh17, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nife/pseuds/Nife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tired of watching Hawke and Anders dance around each other, the gang makes a bet on who can get them together first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Conspirators

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Dragon Age Kink meme

"I just can’t take it anymore!’ Isabela shouted as she flopped into her usual chair in Varric’s room. “If I have to see Hawke and Anders mooning at each other another time I might go stir crazy! They want in each other's pants but neither of them is making a move! So all I get to is watch is the puppy eyes, which is sort of sweet but getting to the point of being sickening.” 

All the companions except Hawke and Anders had gathered at the Hanged Man for their usual Wicked Grace night. Anders had declined because he sucked at cards and also gave the usual excuse of 'being busy'. Hawke was unable to attend due to a dinner party his mother had insisted he attend. That just meant there was less money to go around, especially when Hawke usually had the most coin to play with and often lose.

"You're preaching to the choir…so to speak." Varric said with a chuckle, winning an affronted look from Sebastian and laying out his cards to the collective groan of the others as he won another hand.

Aveline scoffed as she took up the discarded cards and began to shuffle them for the next hand. "It is none of our business what Hawke and Anders are or are not doing. I don’t think either of them would appreciate anyone sticking their nose in this.”

Isabela laughed outright at that. “You mean like you didn’t appreciate Hawke helping you get together with Donnic. If it wasn’t for him you’d still be delivering flowers and asking about goats.”

“Ohhh that was so cute though!” Merrill piped up suddenly. “Do you think Hawke will give Anders a goat? He likes cats better though.” 

"Well it might clue Anders into the fact that Hawke wants something 'milked." Isabela said suggestively, waggling her eyebrows and electing groans from all the gathered friends.

Merrill looked as clueless as usual. “But Anders doesn’t have breasts to be milked.”

Fenris rolled his eyes at that as he exchanged three cards. “If you cannot figure that one out on your own you are either naïve or stupid.”

“I missed something dirty didn’t I?” The familiar line caused Varric and Isabela to chuckle. “Oh! You mean Hawke is going to milk Anders penis!” 

"Maker…" Sebastian groaned rubbing his temples, turning both red and a bit pale at the same time. 

Chuckling Varric dealt out more cards, perfect poker face as everyone took a glance at their hand. He grinned to himself when he noticed both Merrill and Fenris’ ears twitch slightly, giving them away. Part of being a good card player and a good negotiator was being able to read people and unfortunately for their resident elves, those pointy ears did more than just allow them to hear well. 

There was silence around the table as everyone focused on their hands. Surprisingly enough it was Aveline who broke the silence. “So what are we going to do about it?” 

Sebastian looked up at her startled and then around the table. “About what?”

“Hawke and Anders, if it’s so obvious that they want to be with each other then what are we going to do about it.” She really did owe Hawke for helping her finally admit to Donnic how she felt. If Hawke wanted to be with Anders then Aveline would help in any way that she could.

"That's very…generous of you." Sebastian marvelled, looking at the fire haired woman with high regard. His sky blue eyes turned to Fenris when the elf scoffed. "You do not think we should help?" he asked.

The look of distaste on Fenris’ face spoke volumes on just what he thought of the entire situation. “If Hawke and abomination wish to get together then they can do so themselves, not that he deserves Hawke.” 

Merrill cooed and leaned over the table toward Fenris. “That’s so cute! You’re jealous!”

Fenris sent her a glare so deadly that it would have the undead withering in their graves. “No, I merely think Hawke deserves to be with someone who is worthy of him.”

"I agree that Anders is a bit of a…" Aveline sighed, shaking her head, unable to come up with the appropriate word.

“A risk for sure, but that’s what makes it all the more delicious.” Isabela added, taking a sip of her brandy. “Hawke deserves to be happy, he’s helped all of us shouldn’t we help him with something in return?” She said coyly, clearly more on her mind then merely aiding a friend; there was the potential for hot sex scenes to witness and write about. “I don’t know about all of you but I’m willing to play matchmaker for him.”

"You just want to watch." Fenris grumbled, electing a disgusted look from both Sebastian and Aveline at the thought of that bit of voyeurism taking place.

Isabela clucked her tongue. "That may be so but I also want Hawke to be happy." She seemed to mull something over for a minute and then grinned wickedly. “We all want to help right?” When she received nods from most of the group she continued. “Why don’t we make this into a game? The one who manages to get them together wins and gets a prize.”

"Oh, and what would the prize be?" Merrill asked excitedly, practically counting in her seat, "I do love games, especially ones with prizes!"  
"I'm in Rivaini but there'll need to be some ground rules." Varric said, laying down another winning hand and earning more glares, groans and gold.

"No use of drugs or alcohol." Aveline replied right off the bat, not wanting to let that even be an option, "They deserve to find this happiness entirely with a sound mind."

"No magic." Fenris added to no ones surprise.

"Like any of us have magic aside from Merrill." Isabela scoffed, taking another drink from her brandy and picking up her cards as a new hand was dealt.

Fenris gave Isabela a cool stare. “It had to be said or she would use it without thinking, we do not want them thralled or something worse.” 

"This is true." Sebastian agreed, looking at the others, eyes shifting in particular to the small formerly Dalish elf. 

"I would never do that!" Merrill cried out aghast. "Forcing other people to do things with magic is wrong!"

"We know you wouldn't Kitten." Isabela assured her, with a gentle pat on her hand.

Varric held up a hand before things got heated. “Let’s not get into the whole magic debate. Any other rules we want to lay down?” He asked as he went and got a piece of paper and one of his pens. “There’s still the matter of the prize.”

"Hm, pay for drinks for a month?" Isabela suggested with a smirk.

"Some of us don't drink, and many of us don't have that amount of coin." Sebastian reminded her with a stern look, "No, it should be something any of us could enjoy."

"You're the only one who wouldn't enjoy it." Isabela replied under her breath with a slight pout.

Aveline shook her head. "You would enjoy it more than most of the rest of us. What about a favour? All of the losers have to do one thing for the winner; nothing sexual or demeaning." She added before Isabela could make a lewd suggestion or Fenris and Sebastian a complaint.

"That sounds fair." Sebastian agreed and, with a small smile, laid down his own hand. Since they weren't playing for money he allowed himself to enjoy this time spent playing cards with everyone.

The others nodded in agreement, all agreeing that this was indeed a good idea. There were still other things that needed to be discussed of course, such as the amount of time each of them would have to play matchmaker, and the order that they would go, this was determined by drawing names, and what exactly constituted a victory. 

It was decided that a victory would be Hawke and Anders verbally confessing their attraction to each other and that each companion had three days to try and get them together. The order would go; Isabela, Merrill, Sebastian, Varric, Aveline and then Fenris. Things would officially begin three days from now to give everyone time to plan.

"Oh this is going to be so much fun!" Merrill squealed, her ears twitching and turning red, "We've never done matchmaking before!"

Aveline sighed and took a swing from her drink. "So long as Hawke or Anders do not find out and murder us."

"I'd be more worried about the mage's pet demon then the mage or Hawke." Fenris grumbled taking a deep swig of his drink.

"Now, now, let's just enjoy the rest of the night and then starting tomorrow we can commence operation matchmaker." Varric said, raising his mug to the others. "To Hawke and Anders."

Some grumbles accompanied the toast, mostly from Fenris, as the others raised their glasses all hoping to win the prize.


	2. First up, Isabela

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First one up to try their luck is everyone's favourite pirate queen, Isabela! Let the matchmaking begin!

When Isabela’s turn came around she was more than ready. She may not be a great matchmaker but she knew a lot about physical attraction and was going to use that to her advantage. Nothing screamed ‘I want you like a great round of sex’.

Sex was great.

Grinning to herself she got everything set up for tonight’s card game, she didn’t need to cheat but it couldn’t help to make sure things went her way. A game of strip poker and locking them together in a closet would be the perfect plan. 

"So…we're playing strip poker…with just the three of us." Anders said, eyeing her suspiciously when she proclaimed that was the game of the evening.

"Apparently everyone else is busy." Isabela said casually as she shuffled the cards. "It's their loss of course, who wouldn't want to see sexy men stripped naked.”

Hawke raised an eyebrow at that. “I can think of a few people; Sebastian, Aveline, and Varric namely, and maybe Fenris. Actually I think the only other person who would enjoy this would be Merrill and she’s terrible at poker.”  Isabela chuckled at that. “Kitten is adorable but it’s too easy to get her out of her clothes, whether or not she’s playing cards or drunk.” 

"Wow Isabela…wow." Anders said with a raised brow, looking at the hand he was dealt. "…This is going to be an arduous evening."

Laughing Isabela dealt the cards. "Big words won't save you Blondie."

Not three hands in and Anders was already getting annoyed and…losing clothing fast. Luckily he had enough layers to go through…which unfortunately would make this evening late indeed.

Hawke on the other hand was doing fairly well for himself; only losing his gloves thus far. The pirate had lost nothing.

While Isabela was delighting in her victories with Anders, but it was Hawke she really needed to focus on beating. It was time to take out the special cards and really get this game moving along. She slipped the extra cards into her hand while she was shuffling and the dealt them out there was no way that she could lose now.

Just in case though it was time to employ some distraction tactics. “You look adorable half naked Anders, don’t you agree Hawke?” 

She watched as Hawke’s eyes darted up from his cards to look at Anders. His expression didn’t change at all though, damn Hawke and his poker face. “He looks a little cold.”

"I am a little cold." Anders growled, glaring at his obviously losing hand. His tells were so loud even Merrill would have been able to pick them up.

“You’re about to get a lot colder,” Isabela told him as she laid out her hand. “Straight flush, what do you have boys?”

Hawke cursed and threw down his full house. “You got lucky this time Isabela.” As he said that he stripped off his shirt much to Isabela’s delight. She doubted that he really had to given that he still had all his other clothes but she certainly appreciated the view. 

"…Great." Anders grumbled and laid down his own losing hand. With an over exaggerated sigh he pulled off his jacket and laid it on the chair they were using to pile the clothes.

"How many layers do you wear Anders?" Hawke chuckled, eyeing up the ragged shirt and …'bib' Anders wore around his neck.

Isabela laughed at that. "Enough to make sure we won't be seeing him naked quite yet. You'd almost think he wears so many layers in case of events like this."

"I wear a lot of clothes because I can't always risk a fire in my clinic. There are more fumes then chokedamp down there and some of them explode when exposed to fire." Anders grumbled, glaring at the pirate.

Not at all bothered by Anders crankiness, Isabela blew him a kiss. “No need to be so sour. Ready for the next hand?”

Hawke, who was more amused about the conversation than anything, nodded. “Let’s continue this game so I can beat you.” He grinned over at Anders. “Sorry but there’s no hope for you Anders.”

Isabela laughed as she dealt the next hand. “Poor Anders.”

"Thanks." Anders sighed and looked dismal at his next hand. Surprisingly he managed to hold onto his shirt for the next two hands before he finally lost the third. "You want my shirt now…don't you?" He nearly whined.

“Take it off slowly for me baby~” Isabela purred, her eyes on Anders though she was watching Hawke’s expression from the corner of her eye.

With a glare Anders stripped off the ragged, barely held together pieces of cloth, putting it on the pile.

It did indeed incite a reaction from Hawke but not the kind that Isabela was hoping for. He gasped as he took in the large bruise that ran nearly the entire length of the left side of the healer's back. Some parts were darker then others and most of it was a lighter shade of greed but it still…looked like it hurt, or had at one time. "Maker's breath Anders! What happened?!"

Even Isabela looked shocked at the site of the bruise. “Where did you get that nasty piece of work?”

"Oh is it still bad? I haven't been able to see it." Anders said, trying to strain his neck enough to see the damage. "I ran into someone …who rather didn't like that I ran."

"We need to get that bandaged up immediately!" Hawke cried out as he got up and went over to Anders. "Isabela can you go and get us some healing potions and bandages?" 

Isabela caught the bag of coins Hawke tossed her way; it seemed that her plan wouldn't be going forward after all. Then again if one of them keeled over from an injury there wouldn’t be any matchmaking going on at all. “I’ll be back quickly.” 

"It's not that bad." Anders insisted, trying to touch it and not being all together completely successful.

Just before she left Isabela watched as Hawke fussed over Anders. There wasn’t sex but maybe this hadn’t been entirely a failure. She still had two more days to succeed.

Sadly as mildly swoon worthy as watching Hawke tend to the injured healer was nothing went further then that. Her next two days were basically put to an end as Anders was put on bed rest and Hawke went out to slay bandits. It was Merrill’s turn next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, we'll try to make the others longer.
> 
> So, I think the secondary title of this fic should be; 'When friends help, Anders gets hurt'


	3. Merrill

Merrill didn’t know much about how humans mated, well other than what Isabela had told her in great detail which had only served to confuse her more. Honestly what did ropes and tables have to do with mating? What Merrill did know what how the Dalish went about choosing a mate and one of the most important parts of that was to show your intended that you could take care of them. Of course this was usually with hunters but since both Hawke and Anders were mages, and Hawke had all the money, which was apparently also very important, Merrill decided that Anders needed to be the one who could hunt and bring home the meat. 

Of course she wasn’t going to just tell Anders that, he had to become a man by his own means. Which is how they ended up not too far from Sundermount looking for herbs for Anders potions. 

"So you say there are…herbs?" Anders asked, following what he obviously, and made no attempt to conceal, considered one of the craziest female Dalish he'd ever met, "Lots of them…just growing in a field but we can't bring Hawke or any of the others because…?"

“Because I want to pick everyone flowers too! As a surprise, it’s not a surprise if they’re here with us.” Merrill said brightly as she skipped along beside him. “It’s just a field, are you worried we’re going to get attacked by a dragon or something?”

"This is Kirkwall, where everything bad that can happen, will happen," Anders sighed, rubbing his forehead and following her, "so yes, a bit."

Merrill looked over at him with a little grin. “Don’t be such a downer, nothing could possibly go wrong; we’re only a little ways away from Kirkwall and it’s only herb gathering.” Honestly, Anders really could be so grumpy. This was going to be fun!

"Really…Templars, dragons, demons, slavers, blood mages and others but, you're right, this could be absolutely delightful." Anders said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“You’re such a stick in the mud.” Really it was no wonder Hawke had not made a move yet, Merrill was going to fix that though. 

A field burst into view as they finally passed by the part of the wounded coast they'd been trudging through. It was positively brimming with flowers, plants and herbs of many kinds. Merrill smiled as Anders' eyes widened, shock written clearly on his face. Quietly she laughed smugly, knowing that the blond mage had thought she'd lied.

"Wow I…wow, this will fill my clinic for a month!" Anders said excitedly, going into the field and excitedly starting to clip various pieces off some of the plants and either put them in bags or jars. Merrill was never very good at the herb part of her Keeper training and so while she knew what the plants was, she only had a general idea of what each of them was good for.

"I told you." There was no need to rub it in but Merrill couldn't help but feel slightly smug, now she only needed to hope that the rest of the plan went as smoothly. "I'm going to be over here picking flowers." She needed to summon a deer for Anders to kill and to do that she needed to be where Anders couldn't see her casting, since he never really stopped thinking blood magic was an abhorrent thing.

"Right." Anders answered, not even waving her off, too lost in his task. She'd hear him, once in a while, practically squee in joy after he picked something else.

Merrill watched him a moment longer before making her way to the stretch of trees that bordered one side of the field. She had marked this location out earlier and had even prepared what she needed in advance, she was so proud of herself for that.

Once she was there it was time to cast. The spell itself was rather minor and would take minimal effort to cast; the hard part would be contacting the mind of the animal she desired. It took longer than she had first thought it would but finally she made contact with the mind of one of animals nearby and called it to her. It was more stubborn that she had anticipated a buck’s mind would be. With a strong mental push it finally answered. Now she just had to wait for it to come to them.

"Merrill…" Anders said, standing up from where he'd been kneeling. "…What did you do? I felt something terrible pulse." his voice was a near growl as he advanced on her, a face of severe irritation scowling at her. It reminded her of her keeper…making her bones jelly.

The sound of Anders voice caused Merrill to squeak slightly in surprise. “Nothing! I just had to do something, nothing big!” She hurried to stand where he could see her and held up her hands to show that she was not doing anything. There was a bit of blood from a pin prick on her finger but that was all and she could easily say she had pricked it on a thorn if needed. 

"You were using blood magic!" Anders hissed, his eyes shining blue for an instant, fading back to anger amber.

“Nooooo.” Merrill was perhaps not the best of liars, but she wasn’t stupid either and Justice was scary. “Well only a little, it was just something for me! No one was hurt or anything!” 

"We are alone in the middle of nowhere and you just basically announced to anything vile in the area; 'Hey if you're hungry please come eat us! Especially the elf, she's scrumptious!'" Anders nearly roared, hands twitching with restrained rage and probably the urge to strangle, hit or shake her…maybe all three.

Merrill couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that. “You’re being just a little bit silly, it doesn’t work that way, not blood magic. No one is here either so you don’t have to keep screaming at me until you pass out.” Maybe it was Anders anger that was keeping Hawke back, she wouldn’t doubt it. “Are we going to finish picking herbs and flowers or not?”

"…If I didn't need these herbs…" Anders growled, turned stomping back to the plants he was cutting before and continuing his work. "Don't think I won't inform Hawke, he won't take you out next time." he continued grumpily, griping like Carver use to.

Thinking about Carver made Merrill feel a little sad, she missed Hawke’s little brother more than anyone else could know. But that wasn’t what she needed to focus on right now. “I use my magic all the time when I’m fighting at Hawke’s side; it doesn’t bother him only you, Fenris and Sebastian get all grabby about it.” She said as she followed after Anders, beginning to pick her flowers. Where was that buck she had called?

"No he doesn't like it either he just doesn't yell at you when he sees it because he, for whatever reason, likes you." Anders answered, moving away from her.

“Does it make you mad that he likes me even though I’m a blood mage?” Merrill couldn’t help but ask. “That even though I’m everything you apparently hate he still keeps me by his side.” 

She was eager to hear Anders answer but whatever he was going to say was interrupted by what sounded almost like thunder rolling in the distance but there were no clouds in the sky. “What is that?”

"…That sounded like a-" Anders began but never finished. Suddenly there was a dragon landing right on top of him. He barely got an arm up to defend himself and could only scream in pain as the thing bit deeply into his forearm.

“Anders!” Merrill cried out as she summoned vines to wrap around the dragon and pull it away from him. With a stern look of concentration she tried to put it to sleep, pouring herself into the spell.

With a grumbling roar the dragon stumbled a bit but did not fall, turning to her with an angry, if dazed look

Merrill danced away from it keeping its focus on her so that Anders could heal himself. “Come at me beastie!”

Pale with blood loss Anders managed to heal the worst of it and grabbed his staff, gasping in pain. "We need to get away!" He shouted at her, already limping from the field, his pack lying on the ground, some of the bottles broken.

“Go! I will come when you are far enough away!” She didn’t want to hurt the dragon so Merrill kept casting the sleeping spells, even if she only managed to slow it down it should be enough.

A roar and the sound of a swishing tail was all the warning Merrill got before the dragon hit her with its broadside so hard she flew. Sadly it was a rock covered in moss that halted her flight.

Merrill screamed as she felt something in her shoulder snap. She collapsed to the ground and struggled to get up again so that she could try and get away from the dragon. It proved difficult with the way the world was swaying though. Her only hope was that Anders had managed to get away.

"YOU WILL NOT HAVE HER!" A bright glowing light filled her vision, the gentle blue of a morning sky. She felt…warmth and oddly protected, like a mother's arms wrapping around her. As her vision began to blacken her green eyes drifted over and there she beheld it, Anders glowing with blue pulsing magic, never as she'd seen him or Justice before.

She heard the dragon roar followed soon after by the sound of beating wings as her vision faded and she succumbed to unconsciousness. For a moment…she felt warm almost loved…like …she hadn't lost her clan, wasn't all alone. As though she'd found a new one.

Slowly her green eyes began to open. She was being carried, laid on hard back with strong muscle that was still somehow comfortable.

“A-Anders?” It was hard to get the words out, her throat felt so dry. But she knew he heard her when he tensed slightly beneath her, not stopping though. “I’m so s-sorry.”

"You're an idiot, but I already knew that." Anders sighed, trying not to jostle her to much. "I ended up using many of the plants I gathered on healing that head injury that you got…and a good portion of the rest of the plants were trampled on…or coated in dragon blood."

There was nothing she could say to make up for what she had done, no matter what she wished otherwise. “I’m sorry. We can come back again with Hawke and the others. There’s still more herbs there.”

Merrill laughed a little at that. “It was supposed to be a deer.”

"It shouldn't have been anything." Anders grumbled, "You shouldn't have been using blood magic."

Not wanting to get into an argument Merrill decided to let herself be lulled into sleep by the walk and the sound of Anders grumbling.

Eventually they made it back to Kirkwall, back to Ander's clinic. The blond mage finished healing what he started before calling on Isabela and Varric to take her home. She was then chastised for being so foolish as to not bring at least one of them or one of their resident warriors with them and for, after Anders told them all about her magic use, for summoning a dragon. She was confined to her bed for a week with Isabela, Varric, Hawke and even Aveline coming to visit and wish her well.

She may have failed at getting Anders and Hawke together but she didn’t feel like she’d lost at all.


	4. Sebastian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sebastian unleashes a fashion monster

"Okay I am officially confused." Anders said as he looked over the clothes he pulled out of box Sebastian gave him. "Why…and what are these?"

“It is a costume for you to wear to the masquerade.” Sebastian told him, keeping his voice level. “Hawke will need you there tonight and you cannot be recognized.”

"Why?" Anders asked, glaring at the brother suspiciously, "Is he in danger? Aveline should be there then, she'd be-"

Sebastian held up his hand to stop Anders. "Guard Captain Aveline is on duty tonight to guard the ball and we need someone who can be close to him and blend into high society. It can be no one but you, I will be there as well but cannot keep watch over Hawke. Or would you prefer the possibility of someone trying to assassinate him and there being no back up?"

"…No." Anders replied with a sigh, looking again at the clothes, "If I'm going to wear something this fancy I need a bath…and a shave." He added rubbing his chin. “So does this random act of generosity and oddity come with a tub?" 

Having prepared everything that would be needed in advanced, in case of nosy pirate queens or dwarfs were around; Sebastian nodded and led the way to the bathroom. “Everything is ready for you here. We cannot have anyone knowing who you are or it may put Hawke in danger.”

"I see." Anders replied, sending another glare of suspicion his way before he entered the room. "Well…how long do I have to get ready then?"

"The masquerade begins in two hours; you should be ready in that time. I must get ready myself, we will accompany each other." Balls and masquerades was something that Sebastian knew at the back of his hand. He had picked Anders' outfit in hopes that he would blend into the majority of the crowd. It was nothing that stood out but it would not be mistaken as someone who did not belong in high society.

Touching some of the plumage on the clothing Anders sighed again and closed the door, getting ready.

Sebastian rubbed his forehead and went to get ready himself; he had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.

It was nearly the entirety of the full hours before the mage came out. Almost two hours and they still had to get to the party. Sebastian was beginning to think he'd seriously misjudged a part of his plan; a blond part that apparently, when given the opportunity, liked to preen as much as any Hightown noble woman would.

"Anders we can delay no longer!" Sebastian tried to keep his irritation in check as he entered the room. "We cannot be late or we will not be able to scout the party."

"You can't rush beauty." Anders replied, fluffing the plumage on his shoulder. Smiling to his own reflection the mage put on his mask then the over ornate hat, running his finger along the oversized feather sticking out. His jacket was a deep blue and styled in the fashion that was currently popular in Kirkwall; it had red trim along the cuffs cold accents and a gold broach in the center along with red trim, while on the left shoulder was a large blue plume. His pants were a rich cream colour and were covered up to the knee by navy boots which matched his hat in colour. 

Sebastian had chosen well. Anders looked…smart, handsome, clean and so…not like his usual worn down ragged Darktown self that honestly, for a moment the archer actually saw what Hawke might see in the man. A little. He was still selfish though.

For his own outfit Sebastian had chosen a white and gold accented half-mask that flared up on the left side. His own jacket was a lighter blue than Anders and flared out at the waist; it was also accented with gold and had red trim but on the shoulder where Anders’ was around the cuffs. He had a large white lace cravat with a blue gem sitting in the centre for accent. His pants were the same blue as his jacket with gold trim around the hem and his shoes were grey-gold with blue gemmed buckles. 

Sebastian shook his head and turned away, already heading downstairs. “Let’s go then there is no more reason to delay.” 

He heard Anders coo at himself again before joining him. What monster had he accidentally unleashed upon the world?

“If Hawke is hurt I will be sure to tell him it is because you could not look away from the mirror.” He told Anders in annoyance. “I am sure he will appreciate that.” This certainly was not turning out to be more of a headache than it was worth. 

"Right, and I'm certain Hawke's really in danger and this isn't some stupid bet you either lost or are trying to win." Anders scoffed, adjusting his hat. "You know this outfit could use a gem encrusted cane."

Sebastian felt affronted at Anders comment. “No one would use a cane with that outfit, you have no taste. Such a thing would surely make you stand out as someone who does not belong.” He was thankful that the party was not far away or he may have strangled the mage in annoyance before they arrived.

"Nice attempt to deny the other thing I said." The blond grumbled, walking behind Sebastian at a brisk pace.

“Whatever you believe about me I am Hawke’s friend and I care about his safety, you did not have to come but you chose to,” Sebastian pointed out. “What matters here is Hawke.” 

When they arrived at the Hightown manor the masquerade was being held at, Sebastian nodded to the doorman who opened the doors for them to allow them to enter. 

The doors opened up to a large marble staircase which led down into a grand ballroom and a dance floor which was already occupied by many dancing couples while a band played to one side. The entire affair was over indulgent with blue silk curtains, tapestries lining the walls and enough jewellery to make Isabela swoon. Hanging from the ceiling in the centre of the room was a large beautiful crystal and silver chandelier. The drapes were held open to let the beautiful night sky in, stars twinkling.

“Hawke is over by the food table, I would suggest making your way there slowly, if people speak with you do not ignore them or they may become offended and make a fuss.” Sebastian felt the need to stress one point that he hoped Anders would remember. “Do not draw attention to yourself in anyway, act as they do and you will be fine and do not let Hawke know who you are.” 

"Whatever." Anders said, waving him off and without so much as a stutter blended with crowd as effortlessly as any noble might have. 

Hawke stood out in the sea of mostly blue clad nobles. He was like the last red rays of sunshine before the darkness. While his mask was a simple dark gold it was dwarfed but the white and gold hat he wore, made even grander by the giant white plume that came out of the back. His long coat and shoes were both black with gold accents and the shirt and pants he wore underneath were a dark red, a shade or two away from blood. Sebastian could see that he had already quite the group gathered around him.

Blessed Andraste let this work, Sebastian prayed silently as he followed after Anders at a distant, intent on making sure that his plan for getting them together would work. The masquerade had everything a good romance needed; mystery, good music and dancing, he could not fail. 

"Oh my but you are a handsome one." Someone said to his left, gaining his attention with a swish of violet silk flowing about a very shapely body.

Sebastian turned and bowed to the woman that had spoken to him. “Thank you kindly lovely lady.”

"Won't you entertain me a dance?" She asked, batting her beautiful blue eyes at him, long dark eyelashes fluttering.

Glancing around briefly to see where Hawke and Anders were and noting that they hadn’t yet made contact; Sebastian turned to the woman and nodded, offering his hand to her with a small bow. “I would be delighted to be allowed to dance with you.” 

Leading him to the crowd they began to dance, and though he was leading…he felt his body being pulled. Slowly the noises and the lights of the party began to blend and move with him his mind filled with their crowded presence.

“You are so beautiful.” Sebastian heard himself say. “I would do anything for you.” 

"Yes, come with me my prince and we will take Starkhaven back." The woman said and he was leaving the party…with her, away from everything and yet his screaming thoughts couldn't pierce his mind.

Sebastian nodded eagerly even though he knew that this was wrong. “Yes, Starkhaven that is what is important. I will make you my queen.” 

"Good my little prince. Come, come with me." She smiled but her teeth…they were so sharp, like dragon teeth. Sharp and tinted with blood.

“I’m afraid I can’t let that happen my dear lady.” A voice said from behind them. “Last I checked the Prince of Starkhaven didn’t dally with blood mages.” 

"Quite the opposite really." Another voice chimed in, followed by the sound of a blade being drawn. “We’ve become rather attached to him despite how annoying he can be.”

In his mind Sebastian knew that these were his friends but something else was telling him they were his enemies, a sinister voice in the back of his mind that was controlling his actions. Without hesitation he drew the dagger he always kept at his side. "You will not harm her."

"Really, that's the best you can make him do?" Another male voice, higher pitched but still welcome. "Drop him." He felt …something, like being smacked awake.

Gasping Sebastian fell to his knees as the blood mage’s spell broke. He was disoriented and couldn’t seem to get up to help his friends as they faced her. 

A battle took place around him, more people like the woman appeared. He saw blood land on the ground before him and a body. Not someone he recognized, good.

He heard Aveline’s cry of ‘I stand for all of us in the background’ followed by a shout of ‘Suck on a fireball’ from Anders. Hawke’s laughter could be heard over enraged shrieks from the blood mages as their attacks failed again and again. 

Then he felt something cool on his cheek, not…like rain but flowing. Slowly it filled him and his mind began to unscramble, thoughts becoming coherent again.

Sebastian blinked and looked up seeing Anders standing over him while Hawke and Aveline dealt with the bodies.

"When they said it was going to be a party to die for I didn't think they meant it so literally." Hawke said with a shake of his head.

"Hawke." Aveline said curtly, already irritated. Her captain of the guard armour had large splashes of blood decorating it, though less so then her shield and sword. To her left Hawke was smiling and covered in more blood…his poor mother would have a fit when she saw what happened to his suit.

With a gentle pull Anders helped Sebastian up to his feet, steadying him before releasing his arm. He gave a lopsided grin before stepping back and letting the archer catch his breath. As he was getting reoriented, Sebastian watched as Hawke walked over to the mage, commenting on his outfit and then touching the feather plumes on his coat. Anders pouted and was about to say something when Aveline interrupted, nodding back over to the archer who was still not entirely steady on his feet.

"We need to get him back," She said, motioning to her uniform, "and I doubt he wants to be covered in blood so Anders, you'll have to be his shoulder."

"Yes ma’am." Anders replied, walking over and offering a steadying arm to him. "Let's go Choir Boy, tomorrow we'll be able to tell Varric all about how you almost got kidnapped."

Sebastian only nodded, feeling a slight dread at the thought of the teasing he would get from Varric and Isabela for not only failing but also getting caught by a blood mage.

"Don't worry, we'll tell them you got caught and dragged out by like twenty of them and they all had large knockers." Hawke laughed, following behind as they brought the prince home.

He was led into the Chantry, and let sit when he was safe in it's walls. While Aveline explained to a mother what happened he looked past them to see, just for a brief moment, Hawke touch Anders chin and shoulder, saying something that spread a shy but pleased grin on the mage's lips. Perhaps tonight…had not been a complete waste after all.


End file.
